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Right tributary of Rhine river in Germany
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Lahn Valley is a romantic river valley with many castles and old towns in beautiful nature.
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The 12th-century castle served as the residence of the princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein until 1950. Then it was converted into a school and the Internet and is still used today.
In 1367 the lower castle was built as a Hessian fief and in 1917 it was returned to private ownership. The lower castle in Fronhausen is an original moated castle and later a castle. The lower castle, the foundations of which have been preserved in the new building and whose former moats have been lost in today's park, shows the well-preserved castle, a large Gothic stone building with cross-story windows and a baroque mansard roof, the gate construction of which is connected to a farm building.
Nice photogenic castle, but not open to the public. Private. Still worth the visit. The oldest building is the Old Castle, today part of the manor was built in 1564. The New Castle was built in 1851. The estate still belongs to the counts of Schwerin. The new castle is closely based on the English, classicist form of the neo-Gothic, the Tudor Gothic. It is a two-story cubic building with a crenellated crown and a flat roof. The corners of the building are flanked by turrets.
Castle ruins with a very well-known restaurant (Badenburg Ritterkeller). The castle is located on the banks of the Lahn, slightly above the rapids there. The lords of Badenburg had controlled an important riverside path since the 14th century, which was the most important connection between Lollar and Gießen until the 19th century
The castle was first mentioned in 1233 and has been destroyed several times in its eventful history. In 1858 the princes of Hessen-Darmstadt, who studied in Gießen, acquired the lower castle and had it restored. The upper castle, of which part of the palace has survived, has been the property of the city of Staufenberg since 2002. A freely accessible viewing platform has been set up on the north-east corner tower, which is about 13 metres high and can be climbed over the still partially preserved stair tower. The Lower Castle, which had been converted into a hotel, was sold to the State of Hesse in 2002. The lower castle now houses the Hotel Burg Staufenberg
Almost nothing is known about the history of the castle. It was probably built in the middle of the 16th century. The approximately 1.1-meter-thick ring walls and a mighty round tower on the south side are evidence of the once strongly fortified castle complex. The facility is privately owned.
The castle, which is documented to date from the 12th century, still shapes Nordeck's image today. It often changed hands, is now owned by the Counts of Schwerin zu Friedelhausen and has been the home of the Nordeck country school since 1925. Lebenshilfe Gießen has been operating a dormitory at the castle since 2015. The keep can be visited by prior appointment.
Built in 946, it was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War in 1646 after an eventful history. Since it was no longer of military importance, it was not rebuilt. It is a popular destination, also because of the 2 restaurants on the castle grounds.
It was probably built in the first half of the 12th century. The castle was besieged and destroyed several times, the last time in 1463 and not rebuilt. There is a restaurant on the castle grounds.
A visitor mine with field and mine railway museum.
Ruined castle with restaurant. The castle was built in 1321 on the rocky outcrop of the Schletsberg above the town and was converted into a Renaissance castle at the end of the 16th century. The castle burnt down in 1900 and was not rebuilt.
The castle was built in 1390 and served primarily to protect the territory and the mining mines. The castle lost its strategic importance at the latest in the 16th century and fell into disrepair after the last administrator left. In the 19th century, the ruin was used by the villagers as a quarry, so that large parts were removed and the stones were inserted in newly constructed buildings. Still worth seeing, especially the beautiful view from the keep.
The crystal cave is a chasm in the Upper Devonian limestone. Large parts of the walls are covered with countless calcite crystals and pearl sinter. In this form, the crystal jewelry on the walls is considered unique in Germany. With a length of about 170 m, a width of up to 26 m and a height of up to 30 m, the cave is the largest natural underground single cavity that can be visited in Germany. It is one of the highlights along the Lahn.
In its current design, it is shaped by the Renaissance. The castle, which is well worth seeing, is now used as an administration building, the adjoining farm buildings as a city museum and court seat. The castle church located in the east wing. The old town of Hadamar is also worth a visit.
The most striking part of the castle is the round 34-m-high keep with an octagonal battlement. While the tower with its walls up to three meters thick probably dates from the 13th century, the octagonal battlement was added in the 19th century. The residential building, south of the keep, is still of Gothic origin (13th century). This part was rebuilt in the late Gothic style in the 16th century.
The castle is a three-wing complex on a mountain top. It received its present appearance during the expansion from 1850 to 1855 and is designed according to the ideal of the romantic Rhine.
It was built between 1672 and 1681 on the ruins of the former Benedictine monastery in Dierstein. Until 1815 it belonged to the counts or princes of Nassau-Dietz, from whom the Dutch royal family descended.
In 1319 the construction of a castle under the foam castle began. With the construction of the Niederburg within the city in 1443, Balduinstein Castle became increasingly less important. After several phases of expansion of the castle in the 14th and 15th centuries and the connection to the city fortifications, decay began in the middle of the 17th century. After the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the Elector of Trier granted permission to demolish in 1665, and in 1680 only the walls stood. In the 19th century, the ruined castle was used as a quarry.
The plant was built around 1090. Already in the middle of the 17th century it was a ruin. Only the pentagonal keep has been repaired several times. Laurenburg Castle was built below the castle in 1800. There are no remains of the original hill castle. The 22-m-high four-story keep probably dates from the 12th or 13th century. On its west side, an external wooden staircase leads to the high entrance, behind which the knight's hall is located. From here you can reach the upper floor via a wooden staircase and from there in a stair tower built into the eastern corner of the keep via a spiral staircase to the viewing platform. The castle is now privately owned, but is freely accessible outdoors. The keep can be viewed and climbed. From its platform there is a very good view of Laurenburg and the Lahn valley. The Knights' Hall now houses a small military museum and can be used as a wedding room for weddings.
Before 1353, the construction of Hohlenfels Castle started. The castle was supposed to control the trade route between Aachen and Nuremberg (Kemel-Limburger Strasse) and Hessenstrasse, which passed in the immediate vicinity. During the Thirty Years' War, Hohlenfels was temporarily abandoned and partially destroyed. In 1712 the main building of the castle, which is still habitable, was rebuilt. Already in 1768 parts of the old wooden structures were demolished; in the period that followed, large parts of the castle continued to deteriorate. In the course of the Rhine romanticism, the already largely ruinous castle served several times as a motif for painters and draftsmen. Extensive security measures have been implemented since 1980 and are open to the public again in the summer.
The castle was built in 1368. In 1737 repairs would have been necessary. In view of the high costs, the decision was made to let the castle decay. Inventory, wooden components and the roof were therefore auctioned off and removed. The castle has been under renovation since 2010.
Popular organized bathing lake with nudist area.
A small lake, also nudist.
A popular bathing lake with nudist area.
A beautiful small quarry lake, also nudist.
The Ruppertsklamm is an approximately 1.2-km-long gorge along a right tributary of the Lahn, originally called Michelsbach, in the area of the city of Lahnstein. A fun scrabble up rocks in a narrow ravine.
A 295-km hiking route that runs above both sides of the river valley. The left bank route is also part of the Lahn-Camino pilgrim way a section of the Camino de Santiago (Jakobsweg, Way of St. James) pilgrimage route through Europe.
65-km-long marker walking route.
278-km marked cycle route.
Hiking trail.
Between Gießen and Limburg, the Lahn is one of the most beautiful water hiking routes in Germany for paddlers. Between Löhnberg and Limburg it flows quietly and idyllically through a lovely landscape away from traffic. There are numerous locks that have to be operated by hand. From Limburg the locks are electrified and a few motor yachts and excursion steamers use the river. It has less gradient here, so you have to exert more strength when paddling. The Diez – Laurenburg section is particularly scenic and traffic-free. The highlight of the route is the ship tunnel in Weilburg with the subsequent double lock. Important: For nature conservation reasons, only the official entry and exit points may be used to insert boats! Disadvantage of the river: Especially during the holiday season and on weekends / public holidays, the river is now quite populated by canoes. This is particularly true of the popular and really beautiful route between Weilburg and Runkel (ideal for a day tour). It is therefore advisable to complete tours between Monday and Friday if possible. Then the rental prices for the boats are usually cheaper.
The roads that follow the river are collectively signed as the Lahn-Ferien-Straße.
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